Oral contraceptives are not only better at easing pain and bleeding, but may also be more effective in preventing pregnancy than regulation 28-day birth control pills, according to a study.
The study has found that both the ovary and the lining of the uterus are suppressed better and quicker with the continuous pill rather than with the cyclic pill.
The study, by Penn State College of Medicine researchers, also did not find any harmful effect on the lining of the uterus with oral contraceptives.
Researchers monitored 62 healthy women, randomly assigned to receive either cyclical or continuous birth control pills, for six months with both researchers and participants blinded to the study group.
"We monitored vaginal bleeding, quality of life, and ovarian and endometrial suppression," said Richard Legro, co-author of the study.
Findings of the study have appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The researchers found a significant decrease in moderate to heavy bleeding days among women who received the continuous birth control regimen.
Women in the continuous group also had a significant decline in circulating and urinary estrogen levels, total ovarian volume and lead follicle size - all biomarkers that indicate the ovary is less active - and reported less pain and behavioural changes compared to women in the cyclic group.
Standard 28-day birth control pills mimic a woman's natural menstrual cycle, while preventing pregnancy. However, results from the study also indicate greater breakthrough bleeding, or spotting, among women in the continuous group.
Legro said the quality of life did not necessarily decrease as it was counterbalanced by improvements in other areas such as pain and mood swings.
Showing posts with label pregnancy news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy news. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Moms pregnant with boys may be less forgetful
Mothers pregnant with boys may be less forgetful than those carrying girls, Canadian researchers said on Tuesday.
The researchers said they found evidence that women who gave birth to boys consistently outperformed moms of girls in tests that specifically taxed memory in areas of listening, computational and visualization skills.
"When we set out to look at the effects of pregnancy on cognition, we weren't thinking of the sex of the fetus, so we were shocked by our results," said study leader Neil Watson, a Simon Fraser University psychology professor.
The 18-month study tracked 39 Vancouver-area women from early pregnancy to several months after birth. The women were given eight tests that were administered repeatedly during pregnancy and after.
In three cognitively-challenging tests, the women pregnant with boys performed significantly better, the researchers said.
Watson said the results suggest that an "unknown fetal-derived factor" that differs between male and female fetuses may have an influence on the mother's cognition.
"The small amount of research that has been done on maternal cognition has generated contradictory results, but our data suggest that some of this discrepancy may be due to the sex of the fetus," said researcher Claire Vanston.
The researchers' findings will be published in the May 12 findings of the journal NeuroReport.
The researchers said they found evidence that women who gave birth to boys consistently outperformed moms of girls in tests that specifically taxed memory in areas of listening, computational and visualization skills.
"When we set out to look at the effects of pregnancy on cognition, we weren't thinking of the sex of the fetus, so we were shocked by our results," said study leader Neil Watson, a Simon Fraser University psychology professor.
The 18-month study tracked 39 Vancouver-area women from early pregnancy to several months after birth. The women were given eight tests that were administered repeatedly during pregnancy and after.
In three cognitively-challenging tests, the women pregnant with boys performed significantly better, the researchers said.
Watson said the results suggest that an "unknown fetal-derived factor" that differs between male and female fetuses may have an influence on the mother's cognition.
"The small amount of research that has been done on maternal cognition has generated contradictory results, but our data suggest that some of this discrepancy may be due to the sex of the fetus," said researcher Claire Vanston.
The researchers' findings will be published in the May 12 findings of the journal NeuroReport.
